Sojourner Truth State Park opened with fanfare, including an Earth Day event, on Saturday, April 23 in Kingston. Scenic Hudson, New York State Parks and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission have worked together to create this new park on more than 500 acres of former industrial property along the Hudson River shoreline. The park, situated 1 1/2 miles along the river, features a network of trails that combine natural and man-made landscapes, woods, wetlands and dramatic cliff and ridgeline. It also contains historic remnants of the brickmaking, cement and ice harvesting industries and quarried canyons. This is the first state park in the City of Kingston and the Town of Ulster and the first new state park to open since July 2019.
Dignities were on hand including Joshua Laird, Director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission; Erik Kulleseid, Commissioner of NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and Ned Sullivan, President of Scenic Hudson. The guest of honor was Barbara Allen of Battle Creek, MI, the sixth great-granddaughter of Sojourner Truth. Following speeches and a ribbon cutting, people were directed to the silo park for refreshments, music and exhibits.